Follow the journey of a Wisconsin family of 4 who relocated to the Walt Disney World area in July 2011

Congratulations to Amanda W and LeeAnne C, winners of our Christmas in July giveaway! Please check your email for information on claiming your prize, and thank you for your continued support of Wishes and Pixie Dust!

If you follow us on Facebook, you may have noticed that we were listening to Christmas music from the Music Choice cable channel- Christmas is our favorite holiday and loved that we could listen to it during their “Christmas in July” promotion. July 25 is the official day of “Christmas in July”, and coincidentally, it is also the first day that we arrived in Florida! Tomorrow marks our three year anniversary, and we decided to celebrate with a giveaway!

Last year after Christmas we were gifted with two Mickey ornaments from one of our readers, and we wanted to pass them along to you: Magician Mickey and Mickey’s Toy Machine.

There will be two separate winners: the giveaway will run until July 31st; winners will be announced August 1 on this blog, and the Wishes and Pixie Dust Facebook Page. Click on and use the Rafflecopter link below to enter.

As a vacationer, Epcot was the least favorite of our Disney Parks, and we couldn’t imagine why guests would rave on about it. It was nice, yes, but we felt the other parks had so much more to offer. As residents, we have grown to love Epcot, and this week’s column will highlight five different aspects of what makes Epcot unique to us.

Marine Animals. As you exit The Seas with Nemo and Friends Attraction, take the escalator up to the second level and enjoy the aquariums that display the marine animals. Did you realize that Epcot is home to a manatee research and rehabilitation center? Vail and Lou are two West Indian Manatees who were victims of a boat strike, and are currently recovering until they can be re-released into the wild. Pictured below is Lou feeding on romaine lettuce: both Vail and Lou each consume 100 lbs of greens daily.

Spaceship Earth. This slow-moving attraction, located inside the geosphere, offers a glimpse into history beginning with the period of cavemen and ending with the information age. It is an educational but enjoyable journey, and as you exit the attraction you will step into Project Tomorrow, an interactive area that allows you to explore different aspects about your current and future world through games and activities.

World Showcase. World Showcase is a representation of eleven different countries that are located around World Showcase Lagoon. Each country is considered a Pavilion, and each pavilion offers food, culture and entertainment specific to that country. The best time to tour World Showcase is during the day; you will not be able to take in all the theming at night. World Showcase offers a lot of great photo opportunities through sunset.

The Land. This is an indoor pavilion in Future World that is home to the attractions Soarin’, Circle of Life & Living with the Land. You will also find the Behind the Seeds Tour (a fee-based, guided tour of four greenhouses featured in the Living with the Land attraction) located here. The Sunshine Seasons Food Court has a great variety of food and plenty of seating available. The Garden Grill is a sit-down character dinner meal featuring Mickey and his friends, and is part of the dining plan. Chances are if you enjoyed fresh vegetables or fish during your meal, it was grown right there at Epcot.

Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. This is a fourteen minute display of fireworks and laser lights that is definitely a must-not-miss attraction at Epcot. It tells the tale of our planet Earth by displaying images on a 350,000 pound sphere in the middle of Showcase Lagoon. Please plan to arrive at least one hour prior to its performance to secure a good viewing point.

We saw these cute calendars at Target and thought we would pick up two sets for our readers! Enter the giveaway to win a 2014 wall and planner-size calendar. There will be two winners: the wall calendars are the same but the planner-size ones are different. See pictures below. You will have the chance in the Rafflecopter widget to let us know which one you prefer. The contest will begin at 12am ET tonight and run through Thursday, November 14th; click on the link below the photos to enter.